Beijing unveils 2008 medals

The 150-gram metal discs that form the focus of the dreams of thousands of athletes preparing for the Beijing Olympics were unveiled in the Chinese capital yesterday.

The gold, silver and bronze medals (picture) incorporate a distinctive band of jade, a double-dragon loop for the lanyard to thread through, and are slightly bigger than those of previous Games.

"This elegant design of medal represents a combination of Chinese culture and the Olympic spirit," Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, said at a ceremony in the Capital Museum.

Jiang was joined by table tennis great Deng Yaping and her former coach Cai Zhenhua to unveil the three medal designs on a stage, beside which sat a countdown clock showing 500 days, five hours, 30 minutes and 27 seconds until the Games began.

The design was selected from 265 submitted from all over China and the wider world with around 6,000 medals being produced for the Games.